Preseason recap: Charlotte Bobcats 82 at Dallas Mavericks 99; Marion leads Mavs to W in preseason finale
Earl K. Sneed recaps the Dallas Mavericks' preseason finale versus Charlotte, as forward Shawn Marion led six players in double figures to help the team finish with a 4-4 exhibition record.
Preseason recap: Charlotte Bobcats 82 at Dallas Mavericks 99; Marion leads Mavs to W in preseason finale
DALLAS — When a team has had as much roster turnover as the Dallas Mavericks in the past two seasons following the 2011 NBA championship, there are sure to be a few former players ready to give their takes on the new-look team.
Last week, Atlanta swingman DeShawn Stevenson offered his support to former teammate and 11-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki, as the 7-footer tries to battle his way back from arthroscopic knee surgery. Stevenson also praised Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle for the job he expects the head man on the Dallas sideline to do with a virtually new lineup.
Friday night, with ex-Maverick Brendan Haywood in town alongside his Charlotte Bobcats teammates for the first time since the center was amnestied by the Dallas front office, he offered the same support.
“I think they made a lot of good pickups,” Haywood said of the Mavs’ brass. “I think O.J. Mayo will help the team. He’s special. And then you’ve got [Chris] Kaman and Elton Brand, veteran big men. Dahntay Jones is a veteran — great defender, spot-up shooter, athletic. So, I think they made a lot of good pickups.
“It didn’t surprise me,” he added on his amnesty release. “It’s a business, man. When they were able to get Kaman on a one-year deal, they were definitely a team you saw going in a different direction – get younger, get some guys to play with Dirk and get some guys that can play when Dirk’s not here. So, it didn’t surprise me at all. It’s a business and it is what it is.”
With the two teams concluding the preseason before meeting again in the Mavericks’ home opener on Nov. 3, Haywood then stepped into the visitors’ locker room as his current and former squads tried to end exhibition play on a positive note. For the Mavs to do so, however, they would have to find a way to win without the 33-year-old Brand, who was scheduled for a rest by Carlisle and head athletic trainer Casey Smith after playing in the previous seven preseason games.
Still, with forward Shawn Marion leading the way after returning from a one-game rest himself, the Mavericks finished the preseason with a 4-4 record, treating the home crowd to a 99-82 win on the American Airlines Center floor.
With Nowitzki in uniform to root his team on from the bench, the Mavericks welcomed in recently-added center Eddy Curry after his waiver release from San Antonio. Curry slid right into the starting lineup next to Marion and rookie forward Jae Crowder, in addition to point guard Darren Collison and Mayo.
With Kaman (strained right calf) and fellow big man Brandan Wright (sprained left ankle) both sidelined, Curry quickly stabilized the middle in a head-to-head matchup with Haywood.
“I felt good. The first couple of minutes were a little tough on me, but after I calmed down, I was fine,” Curry said of his start. “You know, new situation. I think this is a tough situation for anybody to be in, to walk right in and all of a sudden be playing and starting. Like I said, it was tough at first, but it’s what I’ve been doing for a long time, so eventually it was like riding a bike.”
“Defensively, there are some things we have to work with him on,” Carlisle added. “In the pick-and-roll defense he tends to stay back and zone up, and our coverage is more aggressive. It’s a mindset and just something he’s got to get used to, but he did some good things.”
With Curry concentrating on the painted area, the Mavs still would receive a scare early on, though, when Collison crashed to the floor after a hard screen in the backcourt by Byron Mullens. But with their floor general staying in the game and helping to engineer the offense, the Mavs easily jumped out to a double-digit lead as large as 18 while Charlotte missed 18 of their first 19 shots in the opening quarter.
The Mavs then went into the second period with a 29-19 advantage.
After Charlotte scored the final eight points of the first, it took a baby hook by Curry to break a 10-0 Bobcats’ run. The deadly 3-point shooting of Vince Carter and Dahntay Jones then gave the Mavs a little breathing room, before Marion took over the scoring duties as his team built up a lead as large as 20 prior to heading to the locker room with a 61-43 edge at the midway mark.
Led by Marion’s 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, the Mavericks outshot the Bobcats (1-7) through two quarters, 46.3 percent to 24.1 percent. Mayo’s eight boards in the first half, meanwhile, helped the Mavs overcome the losses of Nowitzki, Kaman and Wright inside, although Charlotte held a 32-28 advantage on the glass at the half.
Led by the end-to-end play of Gerald Henderson, the Bobcats clawed their way back into the game. But the 1-2-3 trio of Marion, Mayo and Curry would keep the visiting team at bay, lifting the Mavs to a 79-65 lead entering the final 12 minutes of play.
“I definitely think Eddy Curry will help us,” Mayo said with high praise for his new teammate. “He was good to go. Got in at midnight, got a good practice in today before the game, so he looked good. Soft hands, he gives us another presence in our basket to get some shots off, and I think we were more impressed with how he guarded that basket for us. … I’m happy we have him.”
The Mavs weren’t out of the woods safely just yet, however, as Carlisle was forced to put his lead contributors back into the game after the Bobcats closed to within single digits as they capitalized off Dallas’ turnovers.
After Charlotte climbed to within six, an emphatic one-handed throwdown by Collison off the feed from Mayo with 5:31 on the clock briefly righted the ship. But the Bobcats would keep coming, with another 3-pointer by Carter quieting their momentum after inching to within three.
Another long jumper by Carter and a slam by Marion off Crowder’s assist would be all the Mavs would need the rest of the way. And after the Mavs regained a double-digit lead, only the sight of Crowder coming down from a breakaway dunk attempt grabbing his right hamstring added a sour taste to a 14-0 run to close the game.
“I will be fine. I’ll be ready come Sunday and tomorrow have a good off day,” Crowder would later say as the team takes a day off before returning to practice.
Doing most of his work in the first three quarters and eclipsing Crowder’s preseason team-high of 21 points posted Wednesday night versus Oklahoma City, Marion finished the night leading the way with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting, notching a double-double with 12 boards to boot in 35 minutes of action.
Meanwhile, Mayo added 13 points, 10 rebounds and finished one assist shy of a triple-double, overcoming a 4-for-15 shooting night.
“Just wanted to play a solid game,” he modestly said. “We’ve been practicing hard and having practices on game days, so it was good. I think we were all in rhythm today and we played our hearts out. So, it was good to go.”
Next to Mayo in the backcourt, Collison pitched in 12 points and six assists. In his first game action with the Mavs, Curry produced 11 points on 4-of-8 from the field to go with seven rebounds, while Crowder claimed his sixth straight double-figure scoring night with 11 points as well. Carter made it six Mavs in double figures with 10 points off the bench.
Henderson’s 17 points on 8-of-20 shooting led three Bobcats in double figures, but the Mavericks finished the game outshooting their opponent, 43 percent to 30.3 percent. Led by Marion and Mayo, the Mavs also hung tough on the boards, with Charlotte finishing with just a 55-52 edge in rebounding behind Mullens’ 19 boards.
The Mavs also overcame their 21 turnovers, which led to 22 Charlotte points, turning 20 Bobcats giveaways into 16 points for themselves.
“There were some positives in the game,” Carlisle concluded. “I wasn’t really worried with looking at the score. I’m just kind of looking at how we’re playing. I don’t like the way we’re not moving the ball, we should be moving it better. We did better in the second half, but we’ve got to be better for the whole 48. … (Giving up) 14 offensive rebounds in the first half. We cut it back in the second half again, but some of that was they weren’t missing as many shots. That’s going to be an area of continued attention, and we’re a long way away from where we need to be.”
The Mavericks will now take Saturday off before returning to the practice court Sunday. The team then tips off the regular season in Los Angeles on Tuesday night against the Lakers in the first game of a back-to-back. The game will air nationally on TNT at 9:30 p.m. CT.
“It’s time for the real season now,” Marion said while looking ahead. “It’s time to buckle down now. It’s time to get serious. Real serious.”
